28,000 nutrient solution bonus chapter: "I'm worried about letting the table..."
Banban's bottom started hurting as soon as she got on, and she started making a fuss, "Cousin! How can you travel like this, sitting on such a hard surface all day? My back and waist are aching!"
Unlike the times she accompanied him, he was very considerate in every way. Every corner of the royal carriage was filled with goose feather cushions, leaving no blind spots. Once you lay down, you were so comfortable that you didn't want to get up.
"I'm not as spoiled as my cousin." Ying Zheng said helplessly, reaching out to rub her buttocks, only to be slapped away by her.
Even so, there's no need for all the fuss; he has already ordered his royal carriage to be redecorated.
“Your cousin should be more delicate and not treat yourself so carelessly,” Banban admonished him earnestly. “I’m not by your side, and you’re always so casual…” As she spoke, her face fell.
He quickly lifted her cheeks, "I'm not particular about anything, are you about to cry?" He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"The journey is tiring and bumpy. Traveling for months on end requires staying in the carriage. Even the strongest body can't take it. And you don't like to stop, look at the scenery, or enjoy yourself. You're always rushing around... I'm worried about you being alone, sob sob!"
"Alright, alright." He was at a loss, wiping away her tears, but they fell like pearls from a broken string, one after another, no matter how he wiped them away, he couldn't get rid of them. "It's my fault."
He never imagined that one day he would have to apologize to his wife for 'not taking good care of himself'.
He apologized repeatedly, kissing and hugging her until she calmed down after a long time.
It turned out she had a nightmare last night, dreaming that his carriage overturned on the road, and he lay motionless. She was so frightened that she couldn't sleep, and if Ying Zhao and Xing Shu hadn't stopped her, she would have even wanted to ride a horse to find him.
"Was it me who stopped you? Isn't it because you can't ride a horse?" Ying Zheng couldn't help but tease her.
"...They're angry." She said resentfully, tears welling up in her eyes.
In her youth, she studied in the palace, and he found her a female tutor. She learned whatever the princesses learned, including horseback riding.
Among the princesses in the palace, Yang Jiang was the best at horseback riding, and they played that game the most. Unfortunately, her skin was delicate, and after riding for only half a day, her legs were chafed and bleeding. She couldn't bear the hardship and said through tears that she didn't want to learn anymore.
They also took this opportunity to draw up the blueprints for stirrups, which enabled the stirrups to be mass-produced.
Ying Zheng naturally couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he gave up as soon as she cried.
"I know my cousin is worried about me," Ying Zheng coaxed, pulling her into his arms. "I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
Xiao Heng hid far away, squatting by the fire, trying his best to convince himself that he was a stone, while mentally complaining: Am I not human?! How come His Majesty is only human? There are so many elite Qin soldiers around, and strangely, his clothes aren't black either, can't he see them?
Li Si has recently been teaching the princess, and he is not part of the entourage on this tour.
This was Xiao Heng's first time accompanying His Majesty on an inspection tour. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep well all night. But less than two days later, news came that the Empress had fallen ill. His Majesty suddenly turned his horse around and said he wouldn't go.
Are you kidding me? It's a parade! Such a big event, and you're just going to cancel it?
"If she's sick, please summon a physician!" The Empress has always been in good health, and the messenger didn't even mention what illness she had. In his opinion, something was amiss.
Your Majesty is always wise and powerful, yet you didn't see it!
Indeed, concern leads to confusion; even His Majesty can be blinded by affection.
Starting afresh, the Empress ordered a hot dinner to be prepared for everyone, instead of dry, hard flatbread. Holding the steaming bowl, Xiao Heng gained a real understanding of His Majesty's casualness.
Sometimes he's casual, and those who follow him are forced to be casual as well.
In the afternoon, we passed by a grove of naphthalene trees and were so amazed that we stopped our car to rest.
She sent someone to inquire whether the trees were planted by commoners. After confirming that no one was tending to them, Banban pulled Ying Zheng along to pick the fruit. She climbed the tree to pick the fruit and caught many with the hem of his clothes.
Ying Zheng kept reminding her to slow down, afraid that she would lose her grip and fall.
Banban pouted, "No way, my cousin taught me how to climb trees."
Xiao Heng and the other elite soldiers were circling the tree with their arms outstretched like crabs when they heard this and quickly glanced at His Majesty.
Who would have thought... that someone who always has a stern and imposing face would also—oh well, kids usually climb trees to raid bird nests, especially boys.
After picking them, I jumped down from the tree, wiped them clean, and picked the reddest one. It tasted sweet and sour, crisp and delicious. "What kind of variety is this? It's so crisp, not soft and chewy at all."
Naphthalene fruit is what we now know as apple, but at this time, it was mostly soft and glutinous, with a predominantly sour taste. It smelled sweet but tasted rather ordinary.
Ying Zheng took a bite and found it to be true. "It tastes good. We can keep the seeds and bring them back to the palace to have them planted so that we can eat it every year."
“I can grow them too.” Banban said enthusiastically. “Last year’s grapes were also very delicious. I saved some to make wine, and we can drink it this winter. I heard that the longer you bury the wine in the ground, the better it tastes.”
"Is there anything my cousin can't do?" Ying Zheng said with a smile, offering his support.
Banban distributed the naphthalene fruit to everyone and ate with them. After the soldiers finished eating, they peeled out the seeds from the naphthalene fruit, carefully wrapped them in cloth, and gave them to her.
During their rest, Ying Zheng and Xiao Heng talked about the Xiongnu in the north.
With the people's livelihood unstable, it's not advisable to wage a large-scale war, but leaving such a hidden danger is also frustrating.
Banban listened from the side and said, "My cousin once told me about the agricultural-military system. This was established by Shang Yang's reforms. In the past, there were conditions for frequent wars, so all the men in the country had to register their names when they turned seventeen and undertake a certain period of military service. Now it seems that the corvée labor is heavy and is indeed harmful to people's livelihood."
This is no different from universal conscription. It's one thing to make it a critical policy at a critical moment, but the problem is that such strict military service is not needed at present.
Xiao Heng nodded. "Your Majesty's desire to wipe out the Xiongnu in one fell swoop is something I have heard about before. I have been thinking about this matter day and night."
"However, since we are going to recruit soldiers to attack the Xiongnu in the north, some losses are unavoidable. We cannot avoid any impact, but we can minimize it."
Ying Zheng guessed what he was going to say, which was exactly what he was thinking, and laughed heartily without realizing it, "Please speak freely, Minister Xiao."
"I am powerless to shorten the impact. After much thought, I can only come up with three points."
Banban perked up and listened to Xiao Heng speak.
“The current military service period in Qin is too long. It could be appropriately shortened to two years, or even one year.”
"To ensure that the agricultural season is not delayed due to conscription, it would be better to choose a rotation system."
“The most important point is that conscription costs a lot, it’s a huge expense,” Xiao Heng pondered for a moment, hesitated repeatedly, and said hesitantly, “If we could use money instead of conscription…”
"Using money to avoid military service? Isn't that a bit unfair? If you have money, you can avoid military service. Won't this create conflict between the rich and the poor?" Banban wondered.
"Not so," Xiao Heng explained. "Most people from wealthy families are unwilling to serve in the military. They can pay a certain amount of money to avoid service. We can use this money to improve the treatment of soldiers. If the treatment is better, perhaps some people will be willing to serve in the military. After all, there are no wars every year, and the benefits of two years of military service are real."
"So that's what it means." Banban suddenly realized.
In addition, he proposed establishing an elite standing army in the central government, selecting volunteers and physically strong individuals from the existing Qin army to receive the most professional training and become the royal guards. Their rotation would be longer, and promotion channels could be set up from among ordinary soldiers.
In short, this army is the core force stationed in the capital region, possessing the speed and instinct to fight anytime, anywhere.
The remaining ordinary troops were divided into different roles based on their region.
For example, border guards, local county soldiers, etc.
In addition, the existing military merit system will be retained and optimized, transforming the original merit-based system into a more comprehensive system of rewards for military contributions, including but not limited to weapons invention, logistics management, frontier development, and so on.
“Since Your Majesty has implemented benevolent policies, you can no longer continue to forcibly conscript hundreds of thousands of laborers for endless corvée labor as you did before unification,” Xiao Heng said sincerely. “You should use elite troops to attack and militia to defend the land, so that you can maintain the country in the long run.”
"By winning people's hearts in this way, all the people in the world will submit to you."
Ying Zheng pondered for a moment. Now he could listen to all the advice he was given without changing his expression. His ministers couldn't tell whether he agreed or was angry.
Banban had heard about the current military service in the Qin state.
During military service, a man is required to serve in three different types of military service in sequence or in rotation: the second soldier, the regular soldier, and the garrison soldier.
If service begins at age 17, those with titles will not be exempt from service until age 56, while ordinary people without titles will not be exempt until age 60, or even 65.
This means that a Qin man might have to serve up to 40 years of compulsory military service in his lifetime, and even longer if the central government forcibly conscripted him. Countless men died in the military service.
Xiao Heng speaks with apparent respect, but in reality he is quite audacious.
He just cut the 40-year military service to 2 years in one go.
Before the Qin state unified China, people from all the states cried out, "The world has suffered under Qin for too long," and this criticism was not without reason.
Ying Zheng set aside the topic of military service reform for the moment and brought up another matter, "Regarding the policy of strengthening the borders, I have already formulated a plan to relocate poor people who have no land or little land in the interior, as well as retired soldiers, to the border regions. What do you think, Minister Xiao?"
"That's excellent." Xiao Heng beamed. "We can provide them with seeds and farming tools, and exempt them from taxes for several years, just like His Majesty relocated people to Qi. In their spare time, they are farmers, and in times of war, they become the most reliable source of soldiers. Moreover, retired soldiers possess ample combat instincts, wielding hoes and spears, and their interests are tied to the land, making them the most steadfast defensive force!"
The two talked about other things, and when they went to sleep that night, Banban quietly asked Ying Zheng, "Cousin, Xiao Heng asked you to change your military service to two years. Are you angry?"
“The original military service period wasn’t that long, but the frequent wars forced us to accumulate it.” Ying Zheng’s tone was unreadable. “For example, the ‘Gengzu’ was a local labor service. Originally, it was for January of each year. In those years, we frequently transported grain, managed waterways, and built city walls. There were only so many people, so we had to repeatedly conscript them. It was a last resort.”
This is also the reason why women were required to marry after the age of seventeen; the fundamental purpose was to encourage childbirth.
"I wasn't angry, just helpless."
Banban comforted him, "Cousin, you govern the country well. Many people like you now. The country is peaceful and prosperous, and the weather is favorable. In the future, the population of Qin will increase so much that we will not need to conscript the same man twice."
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Author's Note: The title even says "Adding XXXXX Nutrient Solution is My Last Stand of Dignity" (peeking)
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